Why WSU-San Diego State isn't on my TV

DirecTV owns exclusive rights to The Mtn., the network of the Mountain West Conference. The home team owns the broadcast rights, so when WSU plays at San Diego State on Saturday, it’s Mountain West property.

I’m like most people. We’re spoiled. We expect every game to be on TV. We think it’s as easy as flipping a switch or cutting a check. It’s not that easy. DirecTV isn’t about to let a competitor – Cox and Kansas 22 in this case – profit from its product and show its games.

Remember that TCU-Utah football game that nobody saw? Same deal.

“We apologize, but it’s out of our control,” WSU athletic director Eric Sexton said. Sarah Kauffman, Cox’s director of public relations in Wichita, said essentially the same thing. Cox doesn’t own the rights, and that’s the story. WSU ran into the same problem when it played at TCU in 2008. Lots of negotiating went for nothing and the game wasn’t on TV here.